Introduction to Personality
Personality psychology is the study
of personality and the individual differences between human beings. The construction
of logical interpretations of individuals and their major psychological
processes are the objectives personality psychologists strive for. It is
difficult to define personality; it encompasses so many different aspects. The
term theory is often misused and confused with other words such as philosophy,
speculation, hypothesis, and taxonomy. It is necessary to understand the
definition of theory and how a theory becomes useful. There are multiple
factors that can affect a person’s personality. Genetics, parenting, and
friends are just a few. Theories allow
us to find answers to what make me?
Definition
of Personality
The
word personality comes from the Latin persona, which is a reference to a
theatrical mask worn by Roman actors in Greek drama to project a role or false
appearance. Although many psychologists agree to the words origination, they
have a difference of opinion on the words meaning. There is no single
definition psychologists agree on; nevertheless Feist & Feist (2009)
provided this classification, “personality is a pattern of relatively permanent
traits and unique characteristics that give both consistency and individuality
to a person’s behavior” (p. 4). Traits influence the individual differences in
behavior, the stability of behavior over time, and the reliability of the
behavior through the majority of situations. Characteristics are the exclusive
qualities of an individual that include attributes such as temperament,
physique, and intelligence (Feist & Feist, (2009).
Examination of
Theoretical Approaches
One
of the most misunderstood and misused words in the English language, is the
word “theory”. Feist & Feist (2009) stated, “A scientific theory is a set
of related assumptions that allows scientists to use logical deductive
reasoning to formulate testable hypotheses” (p.4). There are five key points in
this definition that can help explain thoroughly what a theory is. The first point being, “a theory is a set of assumptions” (Feist & Feist,
2009, p.4). This indicates that for a theory to show adequacy there needs to be
a set of assumptions. The reason for this is an individual assumption cannot
incorporate multiple observations and a good scientific theory does include
various observations. The second point in this definition is, “a theory is a
set of related assumptions” (Feist
& Feist, 2009, p.5). This part of the definition is important for a
scientific theory to be useful since multiple assumptions that relate can
produce significant hypotheses and hold internal stability. Assumptions, is the third significant word
in this definition. A theory is just a set of assumptions, none of the
components within a theory are validated until research is conducted, during
which researchers continue to build upon and restructure the initial theory. The
fourth crucial point in this definition is logical
deductive reasoning. Researchers used logical deductive reasoning to
generate hypotheses from a general theory. If researchers cannot deduce a
hypothesis from the components of a theory, the theory becomes idle. The final
fundamental term in this definition is testable.
A hypothesis is considered useless if it cannot be tested. It however does not
have to be tested immediately, the possibility it can be tested in the future
with the right means is necessary though (Feist & Feist, 2009).
Useful
Theories
There
are six factors involved in making a theory useful. The ability to produce and
direct more research is considered the most vital element of a useful
theory. Two different types of research
are constructed from useful theories, descriptive research and hypothesis testing.
Descriptive research assists in the expansion of the current theory by
involving measurements, labeling, and categorization of the components engaged
in theory constructing. A theory is more complete if there is a larger quantity
of descriptive research. Hypothesis testing is the second type of research produced
by a useful theory. Multiple hypotheses are composed from useful theories,
which can lead to the reconstruction and sizing of the theory after the
hypotheses are tested (Feist & Feist, 2009).
The
second factor involved in making a theory useful is falsifiable, which is not
considered to be the same as false. In order for a theory to be falsifiable it
has to be fairly accurate to suggest research that supports or does not support
its major principles. A theory is not considered to be useful or falsifiable if
it is ambiguous, meaning both positive and negative results support the theory.
Falsifiability describes how if negative research results contradict a theory,
theorist will have to reject or adjust the theory. Unobservable data theories
are very challenging to verify or falsify, “A theory that can explain
everything explains nothing” (Feist & Feist, 2009, p. 9).
The
organization of data is the third factor set forth to determine the usefulness
of a theory. Compatible research data needs to be organized effectively in
order for the findings to be meaningful and not become detached. If the
research data were to become disconnected because of a lack of organization,
researchers would not be able to gain further knowledge (Feist & Feist,
2009).
The
ability to guide a practitioner help individuals with everyday issues is the
fourth element involved in making a theory useful. Every individual is face with
multiple questions daily, useful theories give a practitioner structure and
assist in the answering of those questions. If practitioners did not have
useful theories to guide them, they would have to resort to trial and error
(Feist & Feist, 2009).
The
fifth component involved in making a theory useful is internal consistency. Internal
consistency refers to consistency of a theory in itself. For a theory to be
useful it needs to show consistency with terms and concepts. One word cannot
have two different meanings nor can two terms refer to an idea. It is also
important that the ideas and terms are operationally defined. The law of parsimony
is the final element involved in making a theory useful. The law of parsimony
is when two theories equally meet all the other elements involved in making a
theory useful, the most straightforward and simple theory is preferred and is
ultimately more useful (Feist & Feist, 2009).
Factors of Personality
Development
After reading chapter one, I found
that there are multiple factors that affect an individuals personality. Our
genes are the most important, in my opinion, because they provide us with those
key personality traits and characteristics that can evolve from our social
influences. An individual maybe genetically able to pitch a baseball fast and
accurately, but without ever trying or practicing they would never know of
their ability to do so. Parenting styles
are also important to the development of an individual’s personality. If a
person was raised in an authoritarian house hold, they were raised with strict
rules. In this type of parenting, parents do not express much warmth, they give
no justification for punishment, and the children are not allow to have
opinions or choices. This strict parenting style can result in one thinking
love and obedience goes hand in hand. It also can cause one to become really
shy and disconnect from others and have very low self-esteem (Cherry, 2012).
Every element we are faced with on a daily basis can affect who we are as
individuals; it is what makes each and every one of us special and our
personalities unique.
Conclusion
Our personalities set us apart from
everyone else in the world. Individuals can have similar personalities but there
are so many different types of traits and characteristics, no two individuals
possess the same personality. A theory is a set of related assumption that uses
logical deductive reasoning to generate hypotheses that are testable. There are
six key elements that assist in making a theory useful, the generation of
research, falsifiability, the organization of data, action guidance, internal
consistency, and the law of parsimony. In personality theories, an explanation
has to be made for some type of behavior in order for the theory to be useful
(Feist & Feist, 2009). There are many different factors that influence our
behavior and personality because of our genetics and social influences,
parenting styles is just one example.
References
Cherry, K. (2012). What is authoritarian parenting?.
Retrieved June 18, 2012, from http://psychology.about.com/od/childcare/f/authoritarian-parenting.html
Feist, J., &
Feist, G. (2009). Theories of personality (7th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill.
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